Episode Details

Adrian Wooldridge explains that for most of history, society was defined by a hierarchical presumption where individuals were born into "proper stations." This Great Chain of Being posited that social and natural orders were divinely ordained; disrupting this hierarchy was believed to cause chaos and natural disasters. Royal dynasties served as the central organizing principle, yet they were inherently fragile due to the "frailties of human flesh," such as madness, infancy, or the inability to produce male heirs. Walter Bagehot later viewed these royal houses as mere "decorations" to distract the masses. 1
79 AD POMPEII